Dante (Blood Brothers Book 5) (33 page)

When she slammed the door behind her, her heart shattered to a million little pieces.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“She’s so beautiful, isn’t she?” Maggie sighed as she watched her daughter sleeping soundly in her bassinet.

GianMarco smiled indulgently at his wife, sharing in her happiness, his heart more full of love than he thought possible. It had been nearly a month since they’d found Gianna and her cousins in that abandoned shack in the woods. For the first several nights after Gianna’s return, Maggie
wouldn’t
let the baby out of her sight
. Gianna slept in her basinet beside their bed.
Only in the past few days had GianMarco convinced his mate to let the baby sleep in her own room.

It wasn’t that he didn’t adore his daughter to distraction
—
he did
—
but he felt the sooner they fell into a normal routine
,
the faster they could put the ordeal they’d suffered behind him. What Maggie didn’t know, however, was each night when she was asleep, he’d tiptoe into
their
daughter’s room and stare at her for hours. Sometimes
,
she’d wake up as if she knew her papa was there and a smile would flit across her little face before she fell
back into a restful doze. He
vowed to never let any harm come to his
bambina
again
as long as he drew breath.

He
’d
also wanted his daughter to sleep in her own room for purely selfish reasons. He
needed
some privacy with his woman. Making love with the baby so close wasn’t quite as satisfying because Maggie held back f
rom
fear of waking their child. GianMarco wanted the wild, abandoned, passionate mate he knew his wife was capable of being.

And that’s exactly what he got when they finally had their bedroom to themselves again. Sometimes
,
he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. The nightmare of the past few centuries was over and his family was safe. Their daugh
ter was back where she belonged
.

GianMarco put his arm around Maggie’s shoulders and kissed her temple. “Of course
,
she is. She’s your daughter.”

“I do make beautiful babies, don’t I?”

He chuckled, giving her another kiss. “Yes, you do.”

“I’m so proud of all my babies. I love Camryn and
Darren, but
I’m glad
we
made this baby together.
Our family feels complete
.”

“I know.
I’ve come to love Camryn and Darren as my own and I’m happy to be a part of their lives. Speaking of Camryn
, she barely lets Jagger out of her sight since his return, not that I think Jagger minds.
He likes
all the attention.” GianMarco chuckled, remembering how hard his stepdaughter had fought against her love for Jagger and now
,
the two were inseparable.

Maggie giggled. “That’s Camryn. She never does anything in half measures.”

“And poor Oliver, I think he’s
quite smitten with Montana. Heaven
help him.” He rolled his eyes.

She slapped him playfully on the chest. “Hey! What’s so wrong with that? Montana is a wonderful person.”

“The poor guy has suffered from a rather messy divorce, and you
,
yourself
,
have admitted Montana plays a little fast and loose with men’s hearts. I don’t want to see my friend hurt.”

“She’s really not so bad. Maybe Montana is just the kind of woman Oliver needs in his life. Anyway, he’s a big boy, capable of taking care of himself. I’m sure if something happens between the two of them
,
he’ll go in with both eyes open.”

“You’re probably right.”
GianMarco sighed. “I suppose we should get back to our guests, or do you think we can sneak away to our room for a quickie?”
He
wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Maggie threw her head back and laughed. “You have a one-track mind. We have a houseful of guests and all you can think about is sex?”

He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist before dropping a hungry kiss on her mouth.
Dio
, she was sweet. He lifted his head just enough to trace the seam of her lips with his tongue before allowing his gaze to roam the contours of her beautiful face. She made his heart flutter with joy whenever she was near and it was a sensation he would never tire of. “When it comes to you,
ciccina mia
, it is. I love you so much, and I can’t tell you how very proud I am of you for your bravery. Though
,
I don’t think I’ll ever allow you to participate in another one of our missions should there be more rogues that need to be taken care of.”

“And why not? Granted, there were a few close calls, but you have to admit I
kicked ass
.
How about when I shoved my fists down that one rogue’s throat and pulled his hea
r
t out of his mouth
?
”

He winced at the memory. GianMarco didn’t realize his wife had such a brutal streak. He made a mental note to himself to never piss her off. “Yes, I’ve been meaning to bring to that up. Never take an unnecessary risk like that again. You could have been killed.”

“That asshole shouldn’t have taunted me about Gianna. It pissed me off. There was nothing stopping me from taking every single one of those creatures out because my child was in danger.”

He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “I know. And like I said, I’m very proud of you, but you have no idea how frightened I was at your being in harm’s way. I don’t think my heart can take another scare like that.”

Maggie stared at him with warm brown eyes as s
he brushed a stray strand of hair off his forehead. “But
,
I’m fine now. You’re stuck with me because I don’t intend to go anywhere.”

“You’d better not, because I’ll be damned if I’m letting you go. Before you came into my life, I was only half-alive. You and Gianna
, Camryn and Darren have made me whole again
.”

She pressed her face against his chest. “You have no idea how much it
means for me to hear you say that.
Everything is so perfect right now. I almost feel guilty at being this happy when…”

GianMarco caught her chin between his fingers, tilting her head back to meet her gaze. “When what?”

She shrugged. “Maybe I’m imagining things, but I get the impression something is troubling Dante. He seems distracted and he’s been staying away again. Remember the last time he did that? He smiles and responds to conversation at
the appropriate intervals, but
his mind is elsewhere.”

He sighed with regret. “No. You’re not imagining things. I’ve known something has been wrong these past weeks, but I was hoping he would work things out for himself.”

“What do you mean? Why haven’t you said anything?”

“You’re a worrier, Maggie. I didn’t want to alarm you unnecessarily, but if you’ve noticed it,
Nico and Romeo have as well
.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“If I’m reading the signs correctly, I’d say he’s entering the first stages of l
a morte dolci.

She gasped
. “Isis?”

“Who else? I
had hoped he would swallow
his stubborn pride and go to her, but something is stopping him. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t believe he’s foolish enough to deny his heart’s desire.”

“I don’t think she betrayed Dante, not after the way she helped us.”

“Neither do I, nor does Dante, for that matter. It’s much more complicated than that. I think it has more to do with her past and him not being able to trust his feelings on that front. Keep in mind, he’d been lured into a false belief that one woman was his bloodmate when she wasn’t. And then
,
there was the confusion of his feelings for you. I think he’s afraid of this not being real, which is why he’s fighting so hard.”

“
That
makes sense. I hope he snaps out of whatever funk he’s in over her. I really like Isis. I think she’s just the kind of woman he needs.”

“I do
,
too. The problem is he doesn’t realize it himself. I think part of the issue is that he’s so used to taking care of others, and Isis is the kind of woman who can take care of herself.”

Maggie frowned. “Do you think he’s intimidated by her?”

“No. I wouldn’t say that. I
just
don’t think Dante knows how to relinquish his role as protector and finds it hard to give himself over to someone so completely. He has a bit of a hero complex and Isis is definitely no damsel in distress. It challenges his ideal of how things should be between a man and his mate.”

“Doesn’t he realize they can be strong for each other? Is it that he feels she doesn’t need him?”

“I think that’s part of it.”

Maggie rolled her eyes heavenward. “Sometimes
,
I’ll never understand men. So
,
what will you do about
la morte dolci
?”

“It’s early stages yet, but I’ll monitor him to see how this thing progresses. He may be fighting his feelings for Isis, but eventually biology will take over and when it does, I may need to intervene so that Isis is not harmed. She’s a shifter and
is
able to take a battering, but not against one in the throes of this madness.”

“Then
,
I’ll help you. Dante is my family
,
too
.
We need to help each other out and Isis will need all
the support she can get.”

“Are you sure? You do understand what it will entail by
helping
, don’t you?”

“I don’t know a lot about
la morte dolci
, but it was frightening when you were in the midst of it. I thought you were going to kill me.” She shuddered as if reliving the memory.

GianMarco kissed the side of her neck. “I’m so sorry for that,
ciccin
a mia
. I live in constant regret of that night.”

“It’s okay. I know you couldn’t help yourself. Besides, it didn’t turn out too bad.”
She grinned
a
nd winked at him.

“You’re just asking for it, aren’t you?”

“If I am, will you give it to me?”

“You know it,” he growled, swatting her on the backside. His cock was rock hard and he wanted nothing more than to take her to their bedroom and fuck her senseless, but he needed to clarify a few things with her first. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her. “Maggie, I don’t think you fully understand what helping Dante get through this difficult period will mean.”

“Then
,
make me understand.”

“Remember how Dante was there for me and helped calm me down? He was allowed certain liberties with you as well to ease the passage of the night. Dante could seriously harm Isis and it would be up to us to see that doesn’t happen. Do you understand now?”

Her brows flew together and suddenly her eyes widened as comprehension dawned. “You mean…?”

“Yes. Are you prepared to go to those lengths? I won’t be upset
,
if you’re not. You’re aware there is a special bond between Dante and I. I can’t ignore him in his time of need.”

“I won’t allow you to, and I want to help any way I can. I knew my life would never be the same when you
made me a vampire
. I fully accept I‘m different and I’m more open to our culture.”

In that moment, GianMarco couldn’t love her more. He pulled her into his arms and brushed his lips against hers. This time he couldn’t ignore the calling of his body. His cock was stiff to the point of pain and he needed pussy. Maggie’s. “Now, about that quickie…”

<><><>

Dante sat
on
the patio table in his brother’s backyard watching the merry partygoers around him, yet he had never been in less of a mood to party. He threw back another shot of tequila, his eighth, wishing for once he had the ability to get drunk.
The alcohol gave him a nice buzz but it didn’t allow him to pass out and forget his pain like he wish
ed
it did.

It had been four weeks, three days, seven hours, and
—
he glanced at his watch
—
forty-two minutes without her. And
,
it had yet to get any easier. He played that scene
of from when they were last together
in his head over and over again and cringed each time. For as long as he lived
,
he’d never forget the pain lurking in the depths of Isis’s beautiful eyes. He’d put that pain there and for that, Dante cursed himself a thousand times over.

In all his years, he’d never been as sadistically cruel to anyone as he’d been to her that night. He’d used, degraded, and humiliated her, and for what? Because he couldn’t handle his feelings for her?
She more than likely hated him now, but she couldn’t possibly hate him as much as he did himself. The very thought of what he had done to her made him sick to his stomach.

Dante had had a lot of time to put things into perspective since their parting, and he realized he’d made things between them more complicated than they should have been. Instead of listening to his heart, he’d gotten some crazy notion in his mind that she’d betrayed his developing feelings for her, when in truth he was the one who’d betrayed her. He’d turned his back on Isis, leaving her with Black Adder, not caring if she was injured or killed. He hadn’t fought hard enough to investigate the truth, even when it was staring him in the face.
But
she’d still come to him to try to inject some reason into his insane line of logic.

When she’d walked out on him, he was finally able to admit to himself what he’d probably known from the beginning. He was in love with Isis and she was his bloodmate. He’d let fear rule him and ended up pushing her away. But the worst part of this ordeal was dealing with the shame. He couldn’t face her after how badly he’d hurt her. He had no right to go to her and plead his case
after what he’d done.

Right now
,
he wished to hole himself away in his penthouse and be alone, but the week’s festivities wouldn’t allow him. Gianna had been christened earlier this week, and the entire family had gathered for the weeklong celebration. There was no graceful way to back out of this. Besides, this was a happy time for everyone. The threat of Adonis and his mother was gone, and for the first time in centuries, he had a lot of time on his hands. While he was happy for his brothers, he was miserable.

He poured himself another drink and tossed it back in one gulp, relishing the sting of the strong fluid running down his throat. Dante was so caught up in his own misery
,
he didn’t notice the little figure approaching him.

“Can you hand me my ball?”

Dante snapped to attention to see his young
nephew standing in front of him
. “Your ball?”

The little boy sighed with exaggerated patience. “My ball rolled between your feet. I was playing catch with Jagger and he threw the ball too hard. Look.” He pointed in the direction
of
the baseball.

Dante bent over and, sure enough, there it was. He picked it up and held it out to Jaxson. “Here you go, kiddo.”

As Jaxson stepped forward to take it from Dante’s hand, his little face crinkled. “Peeeew! Your breath stinks!” He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you drinking? Are you sad about something?”

Dan
te reeled back. Romeo had
said his son was blunt to a fault, but finding himself on the receiving
end of the child’s frank observation
put him on the defensive. He grabbed the near empty bottle of tequila and capped it. “What makes you think I’m sad?”

“My first mommy used to drink when she was sad and her breath smelled like yours. Are you sad, Uncle Dante?”

Leave it to a child to not beat around the bush. He wasn’t sure why, but something compelled him to say, “Yes. I am. I’m very sad.”

“Oh.” Jaxson took the empty seat next to Dante. “Why are you sad?”

“I was very mean to someone I care about.”

“Then
,
you should say you’re sorry.”

“It’s not that simple, Jaxson.”

“Yes
, it is.”

Dante snorted. He wasn’t
going to argue
with a six-year-old. “Jaxson, trust me when I tell you it isn’t. I’ve lived a lot longer than you.”

“I’ll be seven next month, so I’ve lived a really long time
,
too. If you want to show someone you care, you say you’re sorry. And if you’re so smart, you would know that.”

“Jaxson!”
Romeo, appeared
with his daughter in one arm, gave his son a stern, narrowed glance. “Apologize to your Uncle Dante.” Romeo turned to Dante. “I’m sorry. We encourage the kids to speak up, but never to be disrespectful.”

Dante waved his hand dismissively. “It’s okay. He wasn’t bothering me.”

“No matter, he
will
apologize.” He
focused his attention on his son.
“Apologize.”

Jaxson sighed, sliding out of his seat. “I’m sorry, Uncle Dante.” Then the child grinned, the corners of his lips tilting mischievously. “You see? Saying sorry isn’t so hard.” The little boy ran of
f before his father could scold him
.

Romeo plopped down in the chair his son had vacated and adjusted his daughter on his lap. “I’m sorry. Jaxson can be a handful but you have to admit, the kid is entertaining.”

Dante chuckled for the first time in weeks, unable to help himself. “No harm done. And I understand what a handful children can be. I seem to remember you and Nico giving me a run for my money when you were children. You have no idea how many sleepless nights you gave me. You should be very proud of your son. He’s wise beyond his years.”

Romeo grinned. “I am very proud of both of my children. I have the smartest boy and most precious little girl in the world. Isn’t that right,
piccola
?” He kissed the top of his daughter’s head.

She smiled around the thumb in her mouth in response.

“Did I hear my name?” Niccolo joined them with a smile plastered on his face. Dante had to admit his brothers had never looked as relaxed as they did now
.

“Yes, I was telling Ro what brats you two were when you were younger.”

Nico’s hand flew to his chest in mock surprise. “Me? Never. Romeo was the mastermind behind most of our schemes. I merely went along with him.”

Romeo chuckled. “Aww, I was the one who suggested the activities, and you actually planned them out, so I suppose that would make you as guilty as me.”

“Slander,” Nico retorted.

Dante laughed. “I think Ro
meo
and I would both agree
,
you’re full of it.”

“Sure, go ahead and gang up on the younger brother. Hey, there’s Marco. He’ll side with me.”

Marco stepped out onto the patio, followed by Maggie, who had that just freshly fucked afterglow. “I’ll side with you in what?”

“Ro
meo
and Dante are saying I was a troublemaker when I was a child. I was the picture of innocence.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Oh, brother. I’m staying out of this one. I think I’ll join the ladies. You boys are welcome to your little debate.” She sauntered off, shaking her head.

Marco
laughed
. “I think
,
I’d have to agree. What brought on this conversation anyway?”

Romeo sighed. “My kid was popping off at the mouth.”

Dante shook his head. “It wasn’t such a big deal. We had a difference of opinion about something, plus he took exception to my drinking, I believe. I should have been more cognizant of my surroundings.”

Romeo frowned. “He’s very sensitive about that. You never touch the stuff unless… are you okay, Dante?”

“I’m fine.” He hoped his brothers would leave it at that.

“No
,
you’re not,” Marco interjected. “Tell them the truth, Dante.” The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

“I’m fine,” Dante repeated tightly.

Adrienne must have sensed the unease between the brothers because she whimpered and squirmed in her father’s lap.

Romeo carefully set his daughter on her feet. “Go find your mama,
piccola
, and tell her to give you a cookie.” He gave her a gentle swat on the rear, shooing her off. Once the child was out of earshot, he turned to Marco. “What are you talking about, Marco?”

“Shut up, Marco.” Dante spoke through gritted teeth.

“Look at him.” Marco pointed at him. “Don’t you see the elevation of color in his face, the moodiness, the need for seclusion? It’s starting.”

Dante hopped out of his seat. “For the last time, I’m fine. And I would thank you to mind your own damn business, Marco.”

Marco raised a brow. “You are my business, Dante. We’re brothers and though you may think you don’t need anyone, you do. Stop acting like a jackass and go to her, for goodness’ sake. If you let this go on any longer, you know what will end up happening.”

“Listen to him, Dante,” Nico agreed.

“Nothing good can come out of denying your feelings,” Romeo added.

“What the fuck is this all about? Is it gang up on Dante day? I don’t need this shit. Giovanni tried to have this conversation with me earlier. I didn’t want to hear it then, and I certainly don’t want to now, so get off my back.” He leaped from his chair and pushed past his brothers, shrugging off a hand that fell on his shoulder.

He knew what he needed and it was to be alone. He’d go back to his place and try to forget. Only then
,
could he heal. It was too bad the image of injured blue-gray eyes wouldn’t leave his mind.